


Sky Sweat

by Lidsworth



Category: Ajin: Demi Human
Genre: Abuse, Friendship, Reunion Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 00:52:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3309596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lidsworth/pseuds/Lidsworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kei decides to pay Kaito a much needed visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sky Sweat

When he found himself standing before Kaito's wooden door, he beat his fist softly against the tender wood. He was glad that his friend had managed to stay put in one place after all this time, that the year of complications and scorns that came with aiding an ajin hadn't caused him to seek refuge elsewhere.

 

Though Kei wondered, if it came to that, just what corner of the earth would house a traitor, and the son of a criminal.

 

He supposed it wasn't a no brainier that Kai still lived in his old house, as shady and uninviting as it was. The memory of his childhood, and his pathetic rejection of Kai's friendship still stung his ego, and in all honesty, after all that happened between the two from youth until now, it made Kei scared. Scared because Kaito had no reason to accept him again.

 

He'd been a terrible friend, and now, granted some sort of clearance by the government, Kei wanted to utilize his freedom to mend his relationships the best he could.

 

The sky was dark that evening, white stars shone down upon Kei, as if some child had poked tiny holes into a black cloth above his head. The absence of the moon stood tribute to its newness, and Kei stood under a pale night, his hand still gently beating on the wood.

 

It had rained earlier, and the thick smell of sky sweat had managed to coat the earth and every living thing that it managed to produce. Kei hated the smell, as he'd grown so accustomed to the scent over the past months. He could remember his escape like it was yesterday. Worn shoes crunching on gravel, kicking up dust behind them, moist dirt becoming slippery mud, bones shattering like glass on the pavement, skin reddening as it slid atop of the concrete.

 

Kei's hand grew in its ferocity as painful memories fulled his knocking. _Kai shouldn't be making me wait this long,_ groaned the agitated ajin, _What's taking him so long?_

 

 

_Maybe I'll leave and come back later,_ though the thought of returning to his younger sister, wordless, didn't sit well with him. She and Kai had some sort of relationship that Kei still wasn't frankly sure about, and she'd pushed for him to speak to Kei. Fear had been holding him back prior to the conversation with his sister. 

 

But he saw no sense in standing before a door in the humid weather, that would probably kill him before he had the chance to even step into Kai's home. 

 

One more knock, and he would try again later.

 

However, as he made to knock, the wooden door clicked open, revealing a rather tall, brutish looking man, who's face caught the pale starlight. In all Kai's life as a newly turned Ajin, in his numerous run in's with death, and other ferocious monsters, nothing in his short life had unsettled him as much as the dead gaze in the man's eyes standing in front of him, leaning his arm on the frame of the door, and peering at the boy below him. 

 

Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the man, however, wasn't just his eyes, but eyes he shared with Kai. 

 

“ _I want you to stop hanging around that boy. His parents are criminals.”_

  
At the time, Kei didn't care too much about Kai's parents or their situation, or even Kai's situation. He would've rather not been associated with a criminal's son, would've not ruined his reputation. However, that was the old Kei, and despite the fear that the man's piercing gaze had come with, he had no intention to let him dissuade his endeavor to rekindle his friendship.

 

But defiantly, this was Kai's father. Kai's father who had no drive to start a conversation.

 

“Hello, I'm here to see Kaito-”  
“Who are you?”

 

Tripping over his words, Kei made to speak, “I'm one of Kai's friends.” 

 

He was getting a negative vibe from this man, and he tried to alienate the man's background with his energy. But everything around him wreaked of malice. 

 

“Kai doesn't have friends,” And with that, the man made to slam the door shut. Only Kei put his foot in between the crack, already accustomed to pain, and the tactics of a lying man. He'd seen this before, seen this mistrust before. He felt as if Kai was in danger. 

 

“May I come in please, and make a call?” Kei had to buy himself some time. If he sensed Kai was in danger, then he'd do anything in his power to save his friend. The man's features twisted into a feral scowl, as if he'd reached the brink of annoyance. 

 

“What are you trying to play at kid, I told you Kai isn't here,” He hissed, like the winds of a storm, beating against the rough trunk of a steady tree, and steady to the core, Kai stood his ground. 

 

“I just need to make a call, sir. Of curse, I could go ask another house, and tell them how you-”   
  
“Shut the hell up,” The man had discarded his caution long ago, “Make your damn call, but after that, leave.”  
  
Perhaps he thought that his tone would've frightened the boy away, or if anything, lessen his time in the shabby house. And the latter, it had done. Only, Kei didn't need hours to investigate the house, his black ghost could do that for him. 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

He called no on in particular, just the first number that came to mind. Unfortunately, it happened to be his own cell, which buzzed lively in his pocket. Luckily, Kai's father had gone to the back of the house for some strange reason, muttering a string of curses to himself as he did so. That's who Kai sent his ghost after. 

 

When he could finally get himself together, he called his sister. 

 

“Call the police now, and get them sent to Kaito's house,” he spoke quickly just as she made to ask questions, “Just hurry.” 

 

His sister hadn't been able to contact Kai in months, and she'd been too ill to actually come to the house herself. Kai always answered his sister's calls. Needless to say, she was worried. And she had a reason to be. 

 

As he hung up, a rather unsightly image wedged its way into his head. It had been passed onto him by his Black Ghost. At first the scene was unclear, and rushed whispers came in a blur, as his ghost tried its best to communicate clearly to him what he was hearing and seeing. 

 

The room was dark, and the man, who let off such a negative vibe stood near the center of the room, a belt in his and, peering down at a small form tied toward the bed, ankle in some sort of constrictive cuff. 

The man was cursing, as he'd done when Kei initially visited. 

 

“Don't say a word you little shit,” his words were harsh enough to drill a hole into Kei's heart, “Don't say a fucking word.” 

 

Per his order, his ghost remained in the room, far after the man's footsteps echoed off of the small hallway, stomping with a fury. 

 

_Was that Kai? N-no way! That can't be Kai. But...but_

 

It was time to drop the innocent act, Kei had seen enough. 

  
He prepared to stand his ground, his fist balled tightly as the man's image materialized from the shadowy hallway. With the same angry eyes, be began to speak to the dark haired boy. 

 

“Did you cal-”  
“I thought you said Kaito wasn't here,” He cut the conversation short, bracing himself for the worse, as he'd done so many times before. 

 

“He isn't here, now leave,” the man growled, a flash in his eyes, “I don't have-”  
“I heard something in the back, mind If check?” Kei was pushing buttons, throwing fuel on the fire, and at the moment, he didn't care. 

 

“You little shit, get out,” his voice dropped to a steady octave, almost like a lion who bit at his growl, “Get out!” 

 

Kei's ghost was already fast at work, moving quickly to unchain the boy from the bed. Kei was bothered by what he was being shown. Deprived was too less of a word to describe the state of his friend. He looked terrible, malnourished, and hollow. The skin seemed to mold around his bones, like tight clothing wrapped around his body. 

 

A sick sense of nostalgia filled Kei's mind, as his black ghost revealed, through a foggy gaze, the darkness of Kai's head. Had his father made him dye it back again? What on earth had happened since Kei last saw Kaito? 

 

The former blond was sleeping, of course, in pain and in obvious discomfort. He didn't have to worry, Kai was here to save him, and die trying if need be. 

 

“I said get out!” A fist tore through the air like thunder crackling in the dark clouds, and Kei barely had enough time to dodge it. Kaito's father was fast, faster than he expected. Within seconds, he was a hair away from Kei, hurling hardened fist at the boy. 

Kei lost connection with his ghost as he tried to fend for himself and stall as much time as he could. Kai's father was certainly no weakling, and Kei had generalized that as a prisoner, garnered most of his strength in the cold binds of prison. Even with the minimal training Kei had received from the government, he could hardly defend himself. 

 

Quicker than the previous few, a fist hooked at his head, connecting with his skull immediately. Kei saw a loud red, and with his new found vision, his footwork grew sloppy and uncoordinated. He wondered if Kai's father had given him a concussion. 

 

And to his dismay, it had. He found himself falling to the ground, trying his best to keep himself steady. Their was scuffle of feet against the floor board, and for all he knew, Kaito's father could've been looking for a knife. 

 

He considered summoning his ghost, but it had other priorities, though his looming death would eventually disrupt the presence of his ghost all together. 

 

His vision grew foggy, and the shapes around him grew harder and harder to discern. He could make out a murky outline that only seemed to bleed into the darkness of the room. Though another figure loomed behind the one closest to him, a long object was clenched in its hand, and the light caught its deadly form. 

 

It was too small to be his black ghost, but thin enough. However, the stature was all wrong, the motions unsure and erratic, like some sort of injured predator contemplating on whether he would strike his able bodied prey. 

  
“K-kaito....” Kei than realized what had happened. 

 

His ghost had succeeded in freeing his friend, but it evaporated as soon as Kei had locked combat with his father, leaving Kaito alone, awake and vengeful. Or perhaps he was acting on the drive to protect his friend as well. 

 

As he fought to secure his vision, certain things became eerily clear to Kei at the moment. One, the police were on their way, two, Kai was about to kill his father, three, that would make Kai a murderer. As the son of a violent criminal, the system would no doubt treat Kai unkindly, and mark him off as a cast away. 

 

Kei couldn't let that happen. 

 

With the throbbing in his head nearly numbed, the ajin stood shakily to his feet, and pounced on the knife wielding Kai. They both crashed to the ground, the knife sliding out of Kei's hand. He looked rabid, his eyes ablaze with both anger and a sort of sadness that Kei had seen only once. 

 

It had been a while after he was told not to hang around Kaito anymore. They bumped into one another in the store, and the look of sadness and abandonment that flew through Kai's features had been unlike anything Kei had seen. 

 

But things were different now, Kei would no longer abandon his best friend, never. Kei's arm reached for the knife, but the ajin was faster. 

 

“No Kai,” his voiced was low, “I'm not going to let you kill him!” 

 

Kei had somehow managed to maneuver himself atop of his thin friend, and his rough hands had snaked around the smaller boy's wrist. A thousand apologies went unsaid in that moment, as both Kei and Kai stared into the eyes of the other. 

 

Kei looked on the verge of tears and death, his eyes watery, his face pale, and gaunt. He looked exhausted, yet he looked like he wanted to hurt his father, like he wanted to make him suffer. He wanted pay back. But Kei wouldn't allow it, not today. 

 

“It's okay, just rest,” Kei whispered, “help is on the way.” 

 

With a much needed sigh, Kai closed his large eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek. 

 

Though there was much to be discussed, he accepted that for now, he was in good hands. However, that didn't stop the knife that tore through Kei's back, seconds later, successfully piercing his heart. He found no need for a show of pain, he only sought to die quickly, and regenerate even faster. 

 

Any stall in the process could mean danger for Kaito. It only took seconds to kill a person. 

 

The stabbing continued, like rain pelting on the glass of a car window. Kai's eyes snapped open, horror struck and terrified (who could blame him though, his best friend was being killed before his very eyes). 

 

Kei used his body as a shield, used his own flesh and blood as a means to absorb to knife's power. How or when Kaito's father managed to get the knife, Kei wasn't at all sure, but that hardly mattered now. Protecting Kai was number one on his list, and he struggled to do it even as he began to lose consciousness.

 

Any second now, the police would be there. Kei just had to stay awake...just had to stay awake until...

 

 

A door crashing against a wall, shoes encrusted with mud and dirt slamming on wooden floors, the smell of pungent sky sweat filling the corridor was all Kei needed to experience, before drifting off into a subtle sleep. 

 

 

oooooo

 

He woke seconds later, feeling renewed and rejuvenated. The police had swarmed into the room, instantly seizing a rather shaken Kai, and jumping back at Kei's sudden recovery. They insisted that he come with them to receive proper medical treatment, but he brushed off their concerns. 

 

An ambulance was already on the way, to help an ajin who'd already healed. 

He turned to Kaito's father, who was being roughly handled by the police, screaming like a loon, and threatening his own son, as the officers ushered the boy out of the room. 

 

Kei stood to his feet, his shirt pierced and bloody. The warnings and pleas off the officers fell deaf on his ears. He stalked towards Kaito's father, who even with a group of officers holding him down to the ground, still manged to cause them trouble. 

 

The man went ballistic, as Kei stood above him, the boy's cold features grazing the older man's fiery ones.   
  
“You little shit, I'll fuc-”  
  
“Kill me all you want, but touch Kai again, and I'll kill you,” he spoke calmly, turning on his heels, and walking out of the house. 

 

The ambulance had arrived, and there, on the back ledge, sat a brunette Kaito, with a large blue blanket draped over his shoulders. It looked like it was eating him up. Slowly, Kei made his way towards his friend, hopping beside him when he was close enough. 

 

For a while, both were silent, both looked up at the clear sky, savoring the pale light that shone on them from above. Kai probably hadn't seen it in months. 

 

It was Kei sigh that broke the much needed silence. 

 

“We need to talk,” Kei spoke softly, “but first, I'm sorry.” 

 

Kai continued to look up at the stars, looked up as if he'd been possessed by some sort of invisible force that demanded his attention more than Kei did. That, or he was just ignoring his “friend”. Friend, could Kei even call himself that anymore?   
  
Sure, he saved Kai, but perhaps that's what Kai needed in order to move on, and to start over. Maybe he didn't want to see Kei anymore,maybe he didn't want to see anything or anyone that reminded him of the past eighteen years of his life anymore, maybe he-

  
“Yeah, we need to talk,” Kai's voice was small, and erupted from a rather dry throat, but his fortitude was somehow still there, nevertheless. 

 

Kei wasn't shocked that Kai responded, despite what horror's he must've been put through. Kai was strong, way stronger than Kei himself was. 

 

So Kei decided to leave it at that, and returned to gazing at the stars, and inhaling the pungent odor of sky sweat. 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> There's been nothing really given out about Kai's parents. Only that they're criminals, and have a reputation. So don't take my word for it. I'm writing another story, where Kai's parents turn out to be really nice people.  
> I hear chapter 28 is out, but I can't find it! Please help me. Hopefully as the magna goes on, Kei will become less of an asshole. I'm not liking his character now. But i'm in love with Izumi (poor girl!)  
> anyway, i'll be writing a pt. 2 to this, so don't you guys worry. As usual, all of my work is beta'd by me! Have a wonderful week, and God bless!


End file.
